8 Powerful Strategies to Improve Employee Engagement and Retention

Employee engagement and retention is one of the most important topics in business right now.  After all, engaged employees will provide better customer service, have a greater understanding of the company’s goals, and be more productive and profitable. This will lead to a high retention rate. Here are 8 strategies that you can implement today to improve your company’s employee engagement and retention rates.

Make it Personal

Keeping employees engaged requires getting to know them personally. You should ask yourself, “Do I really know my employees?”  Getting personal with individual employees isn’t easy on a large scale, so find ways to touch base with your team members regularly and get to know them as people, not just as co-workers.

Have monthly lunches with each team member or make office social hours part of the culture where employees network together outside of work. There’s no better way to keep staff enthusiastic than by knowing their life outside of work and networking with them.

Make Them Feel Safe at Work

Drafting and enforcing policies designed to keep employees safe is just as important as getting to know them personally.

You should make sure that your team members are protected from discrimination, sexual harassment, workplace bullying, and other detriments to their well-being and feel comfortable reporting any issues to you or to the appropriate channels. This is one of the most important advantages of having a strong human resources department. Thus, hiring human resources management services to support your business is a necessary investment. Having a company culture that enforces safety policies will show employees how much you value them.

This is another way of showing that they’re more than just cogs in the machine!

Show Appreciation

Employee appreciation goes a long way in employee engagement and retention.  Think of one thing you appreciate about each team member, and let him or her know on a regular basis. You can also show your appreciation by sharing your accomplishments with other employees and getting others excited about their success. Employee engagement increases when they feel appreciated and understood by their boss, colleagues, and customers.

Tangible incentives such as a bonus or other types of financial rewards are effective in increasing employee engagement and retention rates. Depending on individual interests, you can also offer non-financial incentives. For example, if your employees have the option to volunteer, rewarding them with time off for participating is an excellent way to motivate them while also giving back to their community. Other non-monetary forms of recognition include providing free meals or allowing casual dress during one day of the week.

Keep Them Informed

In order to keep your employees engaged, you have to be honest with them – even if it’s not what they want to hear. Being transparent is important too! Letting your staff know the company’s progress is crucial. Make sure that everyone who works for you knows what’s going on. By being open and transparent about company requirements, processes, and structures, you’ll reduce the likelihood of your employees getting frustrated.

Doing so will also allow them to share information more easily with the rest of your team. Regardless of whether you have an office or use virtual meeting platforms, clear communication is absolutely essential for any business. You should also keep them in the loop on company initiatives, goals, successes, and failures so that they feel like an integral part of the organization’s culture.

Give Employees a Voice

The next step in improving engagement and retention rates requires giving employees more freedom and voice in their work environment.  You should ask yourself if your employees have enough control over what projects are assigned to them (especially if it affects job satisfaction), how long those projects take, what tools they use at work, and who their internal customers are. In many cases, employees want to feel like they have a voice in their work environment. Asking for feedback regularly will help you to maintain a positive company culture.

Don’t just ask them for feedback when you’re conducting an employee satisfaction survey – ask on a regular basis. You can do this through in-person meetings, but also online surveys and questionnaires that allow employees to provide anonymous feedback on specific topics as they arise. By asking for their input regularly, it shows that you value their opinions and are trying to improve aspects of the company as well as individual processes. When you give employees a say rather than just assigning tasks to them, it makes them feel more valued and appreciated by the company.

Give Them Opportunities for Advancement

A lack of opportunities to advance can be one of the most frustrating aspects of a job. You should talk to your employees about their career goals and ask them how you can help them achieve those objectives.  In addition, make sure that you’re not just offering development programs, but providing enough support so that they can actually be successful in completing the program.

One way to ensure this is by evaluating company performance regularly and adjusting your leadership approach accordingly. When employees know they have the chance to advance within the organization, it makes them feel fulfilled. This also gives them an incentive for better results and dedication.

Teach Them How to Manage Their Time

An important strategy for improving employee engagement and retention is teaching them how to manage their time effectively. This includes setting daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals so that they know what the company expects from them at all times and when it’s appropriate to devote more or less of their attention elsewhere. It’s also important that your employees feel empowered with reporting metrics, especially if they need approval from someone in a higher position.

When employees have the freedom to create their own schedules and decide how much free time they want before working extra hours again, it makes them feel like they’re trusted members of the team who have full control over their lives. This keeps turnover rates low as there are fewer chances that employees will feel unappreciated, overworked, or undervalued.

Look for Ways to Improve Your Company Culture

No matter how great your company culture already is, you should always be looking for ways to improve it.  Whether you want to add a new benefit for employees (like a gym membership reimbursement) or revamp the office space so that it feels more creative and inviting, look at your current workplace through fresh eyes and think of what changes could make work feel more fulfilling for each individual employee. When you know that your employees are happy, engaged, and fulfilled in their roles, they’ll stay longer with the company.

These strategies all work together to create an environment where employees feel satisfied and fulfilled in their roles. When your team members know they’re valued, appreciated, trusted, and respected, it makes them want to contribute more to the company’s success. This ensures high retention rates, as there aren’t many other places where employees will find such a fulfilling work environment. Putting in the extra effort to implement these eight strategies consistently will help you retain top talent for years to come.